Boxing Picks 2024- Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery (Monday 6th May)

The Saturday night Boxing from the United States will likely have been completed by the time you get to read this thread for the big bout taking place in Tokyo on Monday, but I will have a few thoughts about the outcomes of both of the fights involving some of the biggest names in the sport in the next thread.

That is likely to be a thread that covers the return of Vasyl Lomachenko as he takes on former Undisputed World Champion George Kambosos Jr in Australia next weekend as the big fight nights continue.

And we are now just a couple of weeks out from the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion being crowned, the first of two huge cards to come from Saudi Arabia when the entire Division will be shaken up ahead of a rumoured huge Wembley card expected to be headlined by Anthony Joshua.

It has been mentioned before, but the next several weeks are going to be massively exciting for Boxing fans with some top World level fights, as well as some quality domestic fights that may be setting up the stars of the future.

Naoya Inoue vs Luis Nery

The Monster has heard one or two criticisms about him deciding to defend his World Titles in Japan rather than in the United States, but Naoya Inoue has made the point that he is not exactly performing in front of empty Arenas. Instead he is a major star in his home country and another major event will be taking place in Tokyo when Inoue defends his Undisputed Champion status in the Bantamweight Division.

At this point you have to wonder if Inoue will only be beaten when he moves to a weight class too far, much as Vasyl Lomachenko has done.

The Featherweight Champions will not hold a lot of fear for Naoya Inoue and all that he has achieved, but first a bit of almost personal business has to be dealt with.

This angle has been refuted by Naoya Inoue, but Luis Nery is Public Enemy Number One in Boxing circles in Japan.

The Mexican had two crushing wins over Shinsuke Yamanaka in the space of seven months, but Luis Nery failed a drugs test after the first win and was significantly overweight for the second. Neither of these situations went down very well with those in Japan and he was actually not allowed to fight here before this bout was signed off.

With that in mind, the feeling is that the authorities will have signed off for this fight to take place in Japan with a real belief that Naoya Inoue can punish Luis Nery for his previous mistakes.

Unsurprisingly Naoya Inoue has denied this being the case, but The Monster is someone who is going to come forward and unleash some massive shots and it will be interesting to see how Luis Nery stands up to the punishment. The former Super Bantamweight World Champion is looking to regain his World Titles having been beaten by Brandon Figueroa to lose his Belts.

Luis Nery has put four solid wins together since that loss, and the power he brings into the ring means we could see something of a shoot out between the two fighters.

The feeling is that Naoya Inoue can get the better of the exchanges and he is likely going to punish Luis Nery where he can.

The former Champion is not someone expected to take a backward step, but that may suit Naoya Inoue all the more and the current Undisputed World Champion can win in impressive style as he breaks down and concludes this one somewhere in the middle Rounds.

MY PICKS: Naoya Inoue to Win Between 5-8 @ 2.75 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Boxing 2024: 18-28, + 13.12 Units (65 Units Staked, + 20.18% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2019- Errol Spence Jr vs Mikey Garcia (March 16th)

I can get a little fed up of seeing some of the 'he said, she said' interviews we can begin to see from those involved in Boxing, mostly from the promoters and network executives and sometimes you do get a lot of hype from those people when it comes to putting together some fights.

That is not the case on Saturday when we really are getting a Super-Fight between Errol Spence Jr and Mikey Garcia as the latter 'dares to be great' and the former wants to show why he is the premier Welterweight in the world.

Dallas, Texas is the venue for this one and I truly think it is going to be a memorable fight and one that has seen people change their minds about the outcome the closer we have got to it.

More on that below.

A solid undercard is also in play with the whole event being shown on ITV4 for those of us in the United Kingdom and there is no doubt that this is the Fight of the Year so far. Hopefully it will be one that lives up to the expectations.

Luis Nery vs McJoe Arroyo

Chris Arreola is also on the undercard of the big fight in Dallas this weekend, but he could be in for a tough encounter against an unbeaten prospect looking to take the next step in his career.

That's a difficult fight to read so my first selection from this card will come from the bout featuring the returning Luis Nery.

This is the first appearance of Nery in 2019 and he is looking to get back into a position to become a World Champion having lost an opportunity to do that on the scales in 2018. He might not be involved in the World Boxing Super Series which is taking place at this weight, but many will consider Nery the man to beat even when a Unified Champion is created out of a fantastic tournament which has had financial worries.

The winner of the World Boxing Super Series taking on Nery some time in late 2019 or early 2020 is going to be what the fans will be demanding, but it is up to Nery to make sure he keeps winning and winning in style.

In all honesty I would be surprised if Nery is not able to stop McJoe Arroyo in this fight, although the Puerto Rican has gone the distance with Jerwin Ancajas.

Arroyo was knocked down in the fight but went the full Twelve Rounds in losing his fight for the IBF Super Flyweight Title, but he is now coming up for this fight against a big puncher.

That is going to make the difference and I do think Nery will push through Arroyo and force the stoppage. Luis Nery himself thinks the fight won't go more than Six Rounds and I do think we will get a mid-fight stoppage from the Mexican who will want to announce himself ready for a big 2019.

It is hard to judge how much punishment Arroyo is going to be able to take going up a weight especially against someone like Nery. That may determine how long this one is going to last, but I have a feeling it is going to a fight where Nery shows everything he has and starts putting the pressure on after a couple of Rounds to feel things out.

I will have a small interest on Nery putting the afterburners on at around the halfway mark and get Arroyo out there in either the Fifth or Sixth Round.

David Benavidez vs J'Leon Love

Failing a test for cocaine use saw David Benavidez stripped of his World Title and he has now been out of the ring for over twelve months.

The Super Middleweight makes his return on the undercard in Dallas and he is going to be in line for a shot at the WBC Title, although things have been complicated by the ending of the Anthony Dirrell-Avni Yildirim fight last month. The WBC are expected to make their ruling on things on Monday to clear it all up, but for now Benavidez will be looking to shift some of the ring rust when he faces J'Leon Love who returns after losing a Decision to Peter Quillan last year.

This is a big step up for Love and David Benavidez doesn't look as weight drained as he has in recent bouts at 168 when the expectation was that he would be moving up.

Ring rust is an issue, but Love's own absence from the ring and his insistence of trying to wind up Benavidez may work against him here and the latter can get the job done early in this one.

It is scheduled for Ten Rounds, but Benavidez is looking to make a statement on his return to the ring since losing his WBC Title. J'Leon Love has only been stopped once and that came in the Third Round and much is going to depend on how quickly Benavidez gets back into a groove. I think that he is going to come out swinging and I am not sure Love stands up to it.

Errol Spence Jr vs Mikey Garcia

This is the fight I have been looking forward to most in the first half of the 2019 Boxing season.

Errol Spence Jr goes by the moniker 'The Truth' and I have long felt he is the man to beat at Welterweight with the natural size to eventually move up to Light Middleweight and perhaps beyond.

He is a quality underrated boxer, but also has the power to catch the eye and an ability to wear down and break down opponents.

However there is the question about the resume and the lack of real top names, but I give Spence Jr a slight pass knowing how many have tended to look elsewhere than call him out. A bigger concern is only being in the ring once in the last fifteen months and in that time Spence Jr has fought just a single Round as he defended his IBF Welterweight Title.

Spence Jr gets his chance to re-announce himself at the very top of Boxing if he can win this fight on Saturday though and he is the favourite even if there are enough doubters to up the intrigue of the bout.

Mikey Garcia is coming up twelve pounds and two weight Divisions to take on Spence Jr and he has begun to convince enough people that he was right in suggesting he has seen something to exploit in the Texan. All credit to Garcia to stepping up to the plate and 'daring to be great' and he has the credentials to really cause some problems and maybe even the upset.

However I am of the belief that weight Divisions exist for a reason and I think this is going to go along the lines of Oscar De La Hoya's failed effort to dethrone Bernard Hopkins and I say that even though ODLH had been operating at the Middleweight limit for a fight already.

From what I have seen, Garcia has not carried his power up to 140 so I expect him to make less of a dent on Spence Jr. Ultimately if you can't deter Spence Jr from coming forward and wearing you down, it is going to be a long night for any Boxer and I do think that is going to be the outcome of this one.

I can see Garcia beginning the fight well as Spence Jr just works out what his opponent is going to offer. However it will begin to turn in the middle of the fight and by the time we get to the Championship Rounds Spence Jr should be having his way with Garcia.

There is going to be a spirit about Garcia and a resilience that I have to respect, but Spence Jr is someone who comes on strong at the weight and he is going to be significantly the bigger man in the ring. At some point I expect that see Spence Jr take over the fight and I have a feeling there is going to be a stoppage for the Texan in the Championship Rounds and potentially an announcement that he will be facing Manny Pacquiao next.

MY PICKS: Luis Nery to Win Between 5-6 @ 5.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

David Benavidez to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Errol Spence to Win Between 9-12 @ 5.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)